2023 MERCEDES-BENZ E 450

The contact owns a 2023 Mercedes-Benz E450. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds with the cruise control activated, a yellow "Active Lane Keeping Assistance is Inoperable" message was displayed, followed by a red "Emergency Braking to Begin" message displayed on the instrument panel. To prevent the failure, the contact immediately deactivated the cruise control. The dealer was notified about the failure on several occasions, and two separate cases were filed with the manufacturer. The dealer replaced the steering wheel, replaced several fuses, and performed several software updates to correct the failure under warranty; however, the failure persisted after each repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 15,500.

I am submitting this complaint regarding serious and repeated electronic failures in my 2023 Mercedes-Benz E 450 that pose a significant safety risk to myself and other drivers on the road. The vehicle has experienced complete dashboard failures on multiple occasions, including the loss of speedometer, fuel gauge, and gear shift indicators. Most critically, the vehicle recently shut down while in motion, displaying a “malfunction” warning and disabling the electronic steering system. I was unable to maneuver the vehicle off the road, creating an extremely dangerous situation. This vehicle has been brought to the dealership three or more times for the same issue, with no permanent resolution. I believe this constitutes a serious safety defect. I respectfully request that the NHTSA investigate this matter as a potential recall issue.

My 2023 Mercedes 450E car was purchased on June 11, 2023 and has 1,750 miles. On 2 to 3 different occasions, I was stopped at a light waiting to make a left turn, fortunately my light was red and not a green permitting turning, which would have meant I would have pulled up and into the cross section to prepare to turn; I pushed the gas in the drive position and large red malfunction letters displayed across the dashboard and the car just revved. I put it in park and then drive postion a few times and had the same result. Finally, I turned the car off and back on, put it in drive, pushed the gas and it went. I live in Miami, with the serious traffic congestion. The issues that my stalled car caused blocking other drivers’ passage through a few lights, can only be imagined Fortunately, no accidents happened as other drivers attempted to get around my vehicle. The car was taken into service on October 9, 2023, many tests were performed, a diagnosis of the stalling problem was provided, however, I was told there no solution to the problem at this time, “maybe in the future” I was told. Turn off the Economy button, I was told. What if I forget? What if someone else is driving the car? As one can clearly read from the service record, attached hereto, the car is irreparable.The car was released to me anyway on October 28, 2023. After complaining to Mercedes corporate, they offered to repurchase my car. I said I wanted a replacement. They said my model had this problem and a replacement would not solve my problem. I asked about the safety of all other owners and drivers coming into contact with this model on the road and why a recall hadn't been issued and there was no response, nor concern from Mercedes. This model can stall in stop and go traffic on the nation's interstate highways and there will be fatalities. Mercedes, fix the car and give notice to owners of this model about the defect.